Disclaimer: See prologue chapter.
Background: See prologue chapter.
A/N: See prologue chapter.
Beta: Lady of the Shards
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Chapter 7
Undisclosed location, five hours before in the bank…
"Daddy's had enough," said the man, sounding annoyed, watching the security camera but speaking to the man that was standing in front of his desk.
"Sir?" said the man standing in front of the desk.
"These men are idiots. They'll never work out. You need to finish this. You know who your targets are," said the man still annoyed and watching the security camera footage that he had hacked which was so simple a child could have done it. They also had no creativity which would not do in his network.
"Yes, sir," said the man grinning, shouldering his weapon that had been laying casually on the chair in front of his boss' desk.
"Don't forget the note," said the man in the chair, sounding absentminded now.
The man with the rifle took the note from his boss' desk and left the room.
The man sitting in the chair leaned back in it and continued to watch the scene unfold while thinking about what Sherlock's reaction would be to the note if he got to see it. His big brother certainly was a pain.
Then his mind went to the child, Harry Potter, who was going to be his next target, having been hired by a, well, the man didn't think he could actually say the word to himself without giggling but if Sherlock has become attached to him, he could put off getting rid of him for the moment. At least until his game with Sherlock was over. He was changeable after all. Yes, that is what he would do. Satisfied with his new game plan, the man turned back to watch his computer screen to watch what was happening in the bank.
Five hours before outside the bank…
"We have a plan ready to go. We can go in and get the hostage-takers now, sir," said the leader-in-charge of the operation to the man in front of him.
"With how many causalities?" asked the man standing in front of the leader-in-charge, twirling his umbrella.
"Hopefully zero, sir, though there may be a few depending on…" started the leader-in-charge of the operation.
"Come up with a new plan, Agent Jefferies. That is my brother in there and I will not allow him to become another statistic," said the man, leaning on his umbrella now and Agent Jefferies wondered how such a move could look so dangerous.
"Yes, Mr. Holmes. You will have a new plan shortly," said Agent Jefferies, nodding at Mycroft who nodded back in a clear dismissal, and then he left.
After a moment, Mycroft called the two operatives who were following his brother and Doctor Watson yesterday and said in his most dangerous voice when dealing with incompetent agents who have failed him, "Agents Thompson and Johnston. If Sherlock Holmes and Doctor John Watson along with the Detective Inspector die in this bank, you should know that you both will… disappear, for your indiscretion of not stopping the bank robbery before it happened. If they both survive, relatively unscathed, you both will disappear, just not permanently and you will forever become janitors in the office and any other office you seek to work at. Understood?"
"Yes, sir," said Agents Thompson and Johnston as if they expected nothing less.
"Go wait for me in your old office and don't think you can simply disappear from me. No one can do that. Remember," said Mycroft dismissing them and turning back to stare at the bank for a moment before going back over to his limousine to wait for any more news while watching the cameras and debating whether or not he should call Mummy again or wait until it was all over when he had more news.
Five hours before in the bank…
John abruptly awoke at five o'clock in the morning according to his watch and looking around, only Sherlock was awake, the same as when he went to sleep.
Mycroft's office
"Wait one moment, Doctor Watson. You skipped five hours," said Mycroft looking up from his notebook.
"I fell asleep. You just wrote that," said John pointing to Mycroft's notebook.
Mycroft looked to Lestrade expecting him to answer next.
"I – ouch – damn it Sherlock, don't pinch me. I fell asleep before John so some of that information, though not much, was new to me as well," said Lestrade, throwing a look at Sherlock who stared at him.
Mycroft turned his stare at Sherlock who looked away from Lestrade to look at Mycroft and said, "I fell asleep only moments after John."
Mycroft let out a sigh and said, "Why don't I believe that?"
Sherlock just continued to look at him.
Mycroft let out another sigh before deciding to let it go, deciding not to fight this time.
"Very well, John, continue whenever you are ready," said Mycroft, rotating his wrist a bit, before placing his pen back on the notebook to continue taking notes.
Five hours before in the bank…
John abruptly awoke at five o'clock in the morning according to his watch and looking around, only Sherlock was awake, the same when he went to sleep.
He looked away from Sherlock, who still had Harry laying against him except now Harry was using his leg as a pillow and was covered in Lestrade's jacket, and wiped a hand down his face. He had had a nightmare but was awoken before he could do something embarrassing like scream out or hit someone who tried to wake him up.
He turned to his left and saw that Lestrade was still sleeping, his mouth slightly opened. Strange, he never took Lestrade for a snorer. He turned back to look at Sherlock, to ask him if he slept at all, and nearly jumped and screamed, like a man of course. Sherlock's face was inches from his own.
"Don't do that," said John softly but with force.
"You had a nightmare," said Sherlock ignoring what John said though he moved his face away from John's.
"Yeah," responded John even though he knew Sherlock didn't need the confirmation.
"Hmm," said Sherlock and that's as far as he acknowledged it but he did change the subject which John was thankful for. "We should probably discuss what to do about Harry."
"What to do about Harry?" echoed John, who figured he needed tea for this conversation but knew he wasn't going to get it.
"Obviously, we are going to take custody of him and possibly adopt him," said Sherlock simply as if John did not repeat what he said back at him.
"Obviously," said John, slightly sarcastically and slightly incredulously.
"Sarcasm is ill-suited for you, John," said Sherlock.
"Sherlock, we can't just take Harry with us," said John, sighing.
"Why not? I've given it extensive thought throughout the night and the day before," said Sherlock.
"Throughout the – Did you sleep at all last night?" asked John.
"Dull. I had too much to do and no time for sleep," said Sherlock. "Why can't we take Harry with us?"
"Well, no matter how much we dislike them and how they are acting, Harry's got a family," said John though it sounded very weak, even to him and it tasted very bitter coming out.
"They are not fit to raise their own child let alone their nephew," said Sherlock with disgust.
"Sherlock –" started John.
"No, John, it's true. Surely you must have realized how poorly Harry is dressed compared to the rest of them? And how much thinner he is to the rest of them? Even Mrs. Dursley is not as thin as he is so it cannot all be genes. Mr. Dursley's behavior to him is simply appalling and even I recognize this," explained Sherlock.
"I'm not saying it's not, Sherlock, but what you want to do is nothing more than kidnapping," said John.
Sherlock sniffed and said, "You cannot kidnap the willing, John, and if we asked Harry I am willing to bet he would want to come with us without a second thought."
John paused slightly before he answered. He knew that what he said next would determine what happened. He really didn't want Harry to go back with the Dursleys as he could tell that they didn't treat him well if the name they called him was anything to go by and judging by what Sherlock just said and what Harry himself had let slip…
But Sherlock and he did not have a very conducive life to raising a child and don't even get him started on their flat. It's a potentially toxic place for an adult let alone a five-year-old child, not to mention about bedroom space, the experiments, their chronic milk problem…
John looked at Sherlock again. Sherlock, who for some reason was trying to protect Harry and teach him. John sighed. Oh hell.
John sighed again, he knew what he was going to do and agree to, and said, "Sherlock, I would love for Harry to come live with us –"
"He can move in with us when this situation is resolved then. Mycroft's people should be making their move soon," said Sherlock cutting off whatever else John had to say.
John narrowed his eye and continued as if Sherlock hadn't interrupted him, "But our flat needs to be rearranged then. We have to do something about the living arrangements, you need to move your experiments and you have to stop experimenting with the milk! Not to mention we need to –"
Sherlock scoffed and said, "Don't be ridiculous. I have not experimented with milk since I was five."
John really needed a cup of tea before he could deal with anymore but he decided to ask, "So where does it go if you don't experiment with it?"
Sherlock didn't answer.
John continued, "Harry's going to need the milk to help him grow. We can't constantly be going out for it."
Sherlock still didn't answer.
"Sherlock."
No answer.
John was going to kill him.
After a couple of minutes, John looked down at Harry who was still sleeping across Sherlock's leg and asked, "How did he sleep?"
"Poorly," said Sherlock. "He wasn't lying. He does have nightmares fairly often and most probably of his parents' deaths."
John was slightly surprised and said, "He didn't have nightmares about this situation?"
"I imagine so but his parents' deaths seem to be worse for him," said Sherlock, looking at Harry and John couldn't distinguish the look that crossed his face. It looked oddly like caring to him but John decided to keep that thought to himself least Sherlock become aware of it and stop doing it.
"Lestrade seems to know something," said John conversationally.
"Yes, we'll need to interrogate him once this unpleasantness is resolved," said Sherlock, nodding his head.
John made a noise that could be taken as either a sound of displeasure or agreement, though John was sure Sherlock took it to mean an agreement, before they lapsed into silence.
During their silence, everyone in the vault started to slowly wake, starting with Lestrade. The vault floor really was not the most comfortable place to sleep on for long periods of time.
Lestrade sat up slowly and John could hear his back cracking and see it spasm intermittently. Lestrade wasn't as young as he used to be for a floor to actually feel comfortable to him.
John saw Lestrade look around the vault for a moment before his gaze paused on John himself and then moved onto Sherlock, taking in the scene, before they moved back to John.
"Did he even sleep?" asked Lestrade to John.
Before John could answer, Sherlock said, "I am sitting right here, Detective Inspector."
"Yeah, but John is more likely to give me an answer, isn't he?" replied Lestrade before he turned back to John waiting for an answer.
Sherlock frowned as John said, "No. At least that's what he tells me."
Sherlock snorted and said, "I had too much to think about and sleeping is dull."
John looked at Lestrade and said, "He gets like this sometimes."
"Yeah, I know. You should have seen him when he drank coffee for five days straight," said Lestrade nodding his head and grimacing slightly.
John looked absolutely mortified.
"Yeah that's about it," said Lestrade, still grimacing.
Sherlock sniffed, rather indignantly, and said, "I was working an intriguing case."
John snorted and said, "You're always working an intriguing case when you forego sleep."
"You know how I hate to repeat myself, John, but I'll do it once more. Sleeping is dull compared to intriguing cases!" said Sherlock with passion.
John just shook his head at his friend as if he would never understand him. Lestrade was obviously still caught up in his disturbing memories of Sherlock during his five days without sleep.
Once Lestrade came out of reminiscing, the three of them sat in silence and watched as everyone slowly woke up during the next half hour, Harry finally sitting up from using Sherlock's leg as a pillow.
"Sorry," said Harry once he was awake.
"I laid you in that position so you have nothing to be sorry about, Harry," responded Sherlock as if it were nothing and John thought that indeed to Sherlock, it probably was nothing.
Harry nodded his head though he didn't look at anyone, clearly embarrassed though John saw no need for him to be.
Everyone sat in silence for the next fifteen minutes as they tried to wake themselves up without their usual means. It wasn't hard. They were still hostages and adrenaline was a wonderful thing.
Sherlock deciding everyone had enough time waking up, turned to the Dursleys and said, "Once Mycroft's people end this, I will be taking Harry with me."
If John had been the type to face-palm when things were going to get ugly, he would have done so right now though when John looked over at them, for some reason, the Dursleys looked angry.
John looked over at Lestrade and saw that he looked slightly bewildered but not at all surprised by this. John would wonder more on this later, there was one person's reaction he had to see so he turned to look at Harry who looked shocked and slightly hopeful that Sherlock actually meant it. If John's reasoning and Sherlock didn't make John want to take Harry in, Harry's look would have. It's a good thing they decided for sure, that's the excuse John was sticking with, while Harry was asleep.
"No you won't," said Mrs. Dursley at once.
John was not the only who looked confused at that pronouncement. He would have thought for sure they would have jumped for joy at someone offering to take Harry away from them for good.
John saw Sherlock's eyebrows rise very high at that as he said, "Why not?"
The Dursleys didn't offer an explanation but then they didn't need to. The answer was obvious, very obvious, to Sherlock, John could tell by the way his eyes were raking over their bodies.
"You were offered some type of protection by taking him in because he is family? Yes, because he is family and you are getting paid for his necessities like clothing and food, though obviously you haven't been using the money on him," said Sherlock.
The Dursleys, not confirming anything, though Mrs. Dursley said, "Dudley needed new clothes. He outgrew his old ones faster than the fre- than the boy."
"Obviously," said Sherlock with a sneer in his voice.
"What right do you have to judge my family?" asked Mr. Dursley, angrily.
"Someone has to if you think this is okay!" said Sherlock, giving him a glare.
John watched as Harry and Dudley watched Sherlock and Mr. and Mrs. Dursley talked, and that was being kind, back and forth, their heads moving like they were watching a tennis match.
Finally, Mr. Dursley said, "You can't take the Freak and that's that."
Sherlock snorted and said, "I think you settled it right there, Mr. Dursley. Harry will be coming with me."
Lestrade said to John, though loud enough to be heard by all, "I think I need to make an inquiry into Child Protective Services when this is all over."
"But the neighbors," said Mr. Dursley.
"Are less important than your nephew's safety to me," said Lestrade using his Detective Inspector voice and continuing, "and until we can determine if everything checks out, Harry will be placed in the custody of someone else." Lestrade purposely did not specify anyone.
John watched now as Harry looked at Lestrade hopefully with a questioning look in his eye and Lestrade nodded very slightly and once in the boy's direction which caused Harry to grin, very slightly.
"You can't do that," said Mrs. Dursley.
"I can actually," said Lestrade, still sounding official. John had no idea if Lestrade could actually do that but he definitely was.
Mr. and Mrs. Dursley were silent for a moment before Mr. Dursley opened his mouth but before he could say anything, Mrs. Dursley said, "Vernon."
Mr. Dursley looked over at her and she shook her head at him. Mr. Dursley huffed but he leaned back against the vault wall and didn't say another word.
Everyone sat in silence for the next hour, not saying a word to each other, until a commotion outside the vault drew their attention to the door.
Mycroft's Office
"Oh my – Sherlock!" said John jumping up and out of Mycroft's chair as if that would somehow help him.
"Do be quiet, John, Harry is still sleeping," said Sherlock, sounding bored, though he had a very pleased smirk on his face.
"Sherlock," said Mycroft, sounding disapproving.
Lestrade was speechless but also slightly thankful that that wasn't him.
"Mycroft," said Sherlock as John was still walking around and jumping as if that would somehow help him though admittedly not much would help when you throw a hot pot of tea on someone's lap and hot tea pours onto them.
Lestrade, trying to be helpful, said, "You may want to try taking off your trousers."
John threw him a dirty look for pointing out the obvious, his hands already working on trying to do just that while still walking around and jumping as if those movements would help with the burning he was experiencing and he said, "I'm going to kill you, Sherlock."
"John," said Sherlock sounding reproving.
"John," said Mycroft trying to be helpful. "Go into the adjoining bathroom and take off all affected clothing and I will have replacements brought in."
John, with a glare at Sherlock, went into the bathroom and shut the door.
Mycroft gave his brother another look before he walked around to his desk, picked up the phone, dialed a number and said, "Yes? Anthea, we have a code nine four three one dash B. Please bring replacements." He hung up the phone. Then he picked up the teapot that was still on his chair and set it back on his desk.
Sherlock scowled at his brother and said, sounding disgusted, "You have a code for this?"
Mycroft nodded once impassively and said, "I have codes for everything regarding you."
"Even if I –" started Sherlock.
"Yes, code five eight two dash C," said Mycroft.
"And I did –" continued Sherlock.
"Yes, code one eight four seven dash Y dash A," interrupted Mycroft.
Sherlock leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.
If Lestrade didn't know any better, he would say Sherlock Holmes was pouting.
Further conversation was interrupted by a knock on the office door.
"Enter," said Mycroft, sitting down in his chair behind his desk. It was much better than that atrocity in front of his desk.
"Sir, the replacements for code nine four three one dash B," said Anthea holding the spare clothes.
"What if I –" started Sherlock, again.
"Yes, code three eight two one four dash B dash Z," said Mycroft and he sounded stern.
Anthea looked slightly panicked and was surreptitiously looking for somewhere to duck for cover while Lestrade looked confused.
"He was just asking, Anthea. He didn't actually do it," said Mycroft, trying to sound reassuring while shooting a glare at his brother who had a passive look on his face though Mycroft could tell he was pleased with this reaction.
Anthea, recovered, and looking bored said, "The replacements, sir?"
Mycroft nodded at the bathroom and said, "He's in there."
Anthea nodded once, walked over to the door, knocked once and said, "Doctor Watson? I have your replacements."
The door opened, a hand was held out for the clothes, Anthea passed them over and the door was shut again without any words being said other than a quick thanks.
Anthea nodded once at her boss and she quickly made her way out of the office. If her boss' brother was talking about a code three eight two one four dash B dash Z, she didn't want to be anywhere near them for the moment. She had lots to do anyway.
Everyone sat in silence while waiting for John to come back out of the bathroom and when he did, dressed in trousers that weren't doused in hot tea, he shot Sherlock a glare and moved to sit in the chair that was the farthest from Sherlock.
After a minute of silence, Mycroft looked at John and said, "Would you like to continue?"
"Piss off," said John, very calmly. He was obviously very cross with them all.
"Someone has to continue it and John you're the only one left to tell it," said Mycroft and if John and Lestrade didn't know any better, they would have said he was desperate.
"Don't be an idiot, I can finish telling it, Mycroft," said Sherlock looking at his brother before John could say anything else.
Mycroft looked his brother in the eye for a moment before he sighed and said, "Very well. Whenever you feel like you can finish it."
Sherlock's lip twitched but he didn't say or do anything more for a moment before he continued.
Two hours forty-five minutes before in the bank…
The commotion outside the vault actually had to be pretty loud for them to hear inside the vault, thought Sherlock, which confirmed that this was Mycroft's men rescuing them, they never could do anything silently. They probably spent their whole time working on a plan that wouldn't endanger him, knowing how protective Mycroft could be. Sherlock could have snorted. And Mycroft was the one who said caring wasn't an advantage.
He refused to give any extra thought to how he has been acting towards Harry the past day.
There was the sound of gunfire being exchanged and the Dursley child screamed and his mother held him tight.
Sherlock looked at the vault door again. It looked very thick and he doubted much could penetrate it so they were safe as long as none of the hostage-takers decided they needed their hostages outside the vault.
Sherlock doubted Mycroft's men would let the hostage-takers make for the vault anymore and live if they valued their own lives. Mycroft was the British Government, no matter how many times he denied it, and could make a lot of people disappear if they displeased him, not that Mycroft abused his power. No. Never. There was a glitch in the CCTV that caused them to follow Sherlock whenever he went out before he met John.
After ten minutes the sound of gunfire stopped and there was utter silence coming from the outside. Everyone exchanged a look with someone who they were comfortable with, Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, Lestrade with John and him and so on and Harry grabbed his hand out of nerves.
Sherlock, unsure what to do, squeezed it back carefully and hoped it conveyed comfort.
Then there was the sound of the vault being opened and torches being shined in. Were they trying to blind everyone?
"Mr. Holmes?" asked one of the men and it definitely wasn't the leader of the hostage-takers. Sherlock knew this voice.
"Agent Jefferies. So nice to see you again. Can you please stop blinding me with the torch?" said Sherlock, sounding frustrated.
"Sorry, sir. I've got orders to –" started Agent Jefferies.
"Agent Jefferies. We've known each other a long time and we both can guess how this is going to go," said Sherlock.
"Mr. Holmes," started Agent Jefferies.
"Isn't there something else you should be doing? Like supervising everyone getting out of the vault?" asked Sherlock cutting off Agent Jefferies.
"Mr. Holmes won't be happy about this," said Agent Jefferies.
"Mycroft never is," said Sherlock simply.
"Oh thank God, we're saved," said Mrs. Dursley to the agents who came up to her and her family and the others were making similar statements except for John and Lestrade, Sherlock noticed, who were standing calmly by him.
Harry tugged on his hand, which he was still holding and Sherlock looked at him. Harry beckoned for him to come closer to his level and Sherlock did as it didn't seem like Harry wanted everyone to hear what he had to say and Harry was hardly tall enough to come to his level.
"Is it really over?" asked Harry quietly, though not quietly enough if John and Lestrade's faces were anything to go by.
"Yes," said Sherlock simply and though it rankled him to admit it, he would for Harry's sake, "These men saved us."
Harry looked over at all the agents escorting everyone out of the vault and said, "You don't like them very much, do you?"
"Very astute, Harry. I don't like them for very personal reasons. I don't doubt they can do their jobs, however," said Sherlock, though he doubted they could do it with any efficiency. He kept that thought to himself, however, as he realized that it may not be comforting to a five-year-old child.
"Let's go," said Agent Jefferies who was standing in front of him with two other agents, for John and Lestrade's protection.
Sherlock made a noise but he stood up and took Harry's hand again, which he had released when he got down to Harry's level, and followed Agent Jefferies out of the vault with John and his agent following him and Lestrade and his agent following John.
When they made it outside the vault, however, Sherlock realized a problem and stopped.
"Why haven't the hostage-takers been taken outside yet?" asked Sherlock. Those incompetent…
Agent Jefferies looked at him and said, "Our objective was to secure them and rescue the hostages. They are secure."
Hostages walked passed him, including the Dursley family with Mr. and Mrs. Dursley scowling at him but he paid them little attention.
"They would have been more secure –" started Sherlock and that's as far as he got before he was cut off from the sound of shattering glass and what sounded like five consecutive shots coming from the outside.
He heard Agent Jefferies yelling in his earpiece about telling someone to hold their fire but it was obviously too late. Whatever was happening was over with as there were no more shots after the five.
Then the sound of children screaming startled Sherlock into looking down. The Dursley child wasn't the only one screaming. Harry was too so his mind jumped to the worst possible scenario. His eyes immediately sought out John and Lestrade, they were both fine, he would have felt if Harry had been hit, his body would have jerked. In fact, Sherlock saw John shake off his agent and was making his way over to where Sherlock was to check Sherlock and Harry over himself to make sure they were fine.
Harry was still screaming, however, and Sherlock looked down at him and saw that Harry was looking at something past him.
Sherlock and John, who after ascertaining that nothing was wrong with either Sherlock or Harry, looked over as well at what Harry was looking at and could tell immediately why he was screaming along with Dudley.
The four hostage-takers had been shot, head kill shots judging from the bullet holes that were obvious, even with the masks.
Though that didn't explain why Harry was still screaming. The hostage-takers were past Harry's point of view. Sherlock kept looking and then it became even more obvious as to why Harry was screaming.
Mrs. Dursley had been shot as well and she was dead, her eyes staring blankly at her son. It looked to Sherlock as if the bullet had pierced her heart judging from where all the blood seemed to be coming from. She would have died almost instantly as far as he could tell.
Sherlock continued to look in that area and saw that Mr. Dursley also appeared to have been shot, though not fatally. The bullet must have exited from Mrs. Dursley and struck him as he appeared to have an abdominal wound and now that there were no more shots, there haven't been for at least five minutes, a medic was tending to Mr. Dursley so John wasn't needed there unless they asked for him specifically because Mr. Dursley was in danger of dying and John would help as that is the sort of person he is.
"Sherlock, cover his eyes or turn him away. He doesn't need to see this anymore," said John. He had obviously seen what Sherlock had.
Sherlock felt it was probably obvious to John that even though the Dursleys didn't care much for Harry, and Sherlock felt that that was an understatement, they were still his family and seeing them like this was very upsetting to Harry.
Sherlock, surprisingly, listened to John at once and turned Harry into his side and Harry clutched him tightly. Sherlock felt tears soak the side of his suit almost immediately though Harry had stopped screaming. Harry very obviously cared for his family, even if they didn't care for him the way they should, and he was leaving them and was happy about it. Sherlock wanted to let out a sigh. He would probably never understand this sentiment.
The other hostages had been escorted out at this point, though the Dursley child was still in the bank and screaming, though he didn't approach his mother, obviously aware of what all the blood meant.
Paramedics came in with a stretcher for Mr. Dursley who was barely hanging onto consciousness. One of the agents took the Dursley child over to his father, who had been stabilized so that his father could try to calm him down. It worked and he stopped screaming and one of the agents were able to lead him outside quietly, probably to contact another relative.
As they were taking Mr. Dursley out on a stretcher, however, he yelled for everyone to hear in his drug-induced state, "It's all the Freak's fault! He could have stopped this! I'll kill him!" Then he passed out.
Harry, however, didn't realize this and clutched Sherlock tighter and Sherlock could feel the quiet sobs of the boy. This was in no way his fault.
"Harry," started Sherlock but he was cut off as others came into the bank to collect the bodies. Sherlock thought it was best not to move Harry from his side. Harry didn't need to see this process or the bodies anymore as he undoubtedly would if they were to make him move to take him outside and John and Lestrade started to talk about things, Sherlock wasn't paying attention, so Harry couldn't hear what they were doing.
"Sir," started Agent Jefferies and Sherlock glared at him until the man went away. Couldn't he see that Sherlock was trying to prevent a crisis?
Sherlock watched the workers with detachment. Mycroft's workers if their efficiency, or lack of, was anything to go by. They were done with everything they needed to do relatively quickly and they even managed to clean up some of the blood (they were Mycroft's people so they had to have an inkling of why he wasn't leaving yet).
The bodies would probably be taken to Molly as they would probably take them to Saint Bart's for an autopsy even if it was clear how they died.
"Sherlock," said Lestrade a few minutes to him once the bodies were gone.
Sherlock looked at him.
"We should get going outside," said Lestrade and that's as far as he got before Sherlock cut him off by looking down at Harry.
Harry who was frozen at Sherlock's side and wouldn't move even after John and Lestrade made several attempts to move him.
Finally, Sherlock told him it was okay to let go of him. Unsurprisingly it didn't work and only caused Harry to hold onto him tighter. Sherlock thought it was good thing Harry only reached his hip as any higher and breathing could possibly be a problem.
Then finally after five minutes of unsuccessful attempts from John, Lestrade and even Agent Jefferies to get Harry dislodged from Sherlock, Sherlock said to Harry, "I'm going to pick you up, Harry, and carry you outside. Okay?" Sherlock disliked asking for permission but he somehow felt compelled to do it for this boy, especially since all the extraordinary things that have happened so far and Lestrade's strange looks at the boy after them. Lestrade thought no one noticed. Sherlock could have scoffed at his naivety.
Sherlock felt Harry nod in his side, his tears stopped at this point, though he didn't move. Sherlock twisted very awkwardly and picked the boy up and started to walk out of the bank without a word to anyone, he didn't want to be questioned by the police and he didn't want Harry to be either, and he felt John and Lestrade flank him, apparently they weren't going to talk to the police today either, how hypocritical of Lestrade. Either that or they didn't trust him with Harry and Sherlock didn't know whether to feel insulted over that or not.
Sherlock caught a glimpse of John's watch and realized they had been inside the bank for twenty-four hours at this point and felt that it had been some twenty-four hours.
Then they all stepped outside of the bank and saw Mycroft standing in front of his limousine straightening his suit. The next twenty-four hours were not looking so great, however.
Mycroft's Office
"There we told you what happened. Now tell us about Harry," said Sherlock, impatiently, not bothering to wait and see Mycroft's reaction to what happened inside the bank.
Mycroft, instead of answering, turned to another piece of paper and wrote something down. He tore the paper out of his tablet and handed it over to Sherlock.
Sherlock, rather reluctantly, took it and said, "What's this?"
"A book title," replied Mycroft calmly as if he knew where the conversation was now headed.
"Book title?" parroted Sherlock, looking at the paper and reading the title.
"Yes," said Mycroft.
"And why do I have this book title?" asked Sherlock.
"That is my end of the agreement," said Mycroft.
"No you said you would tell us everything," said Sherlock.
"I said I would let you know all I know and that book has everything I know. I still have duties I must perform and oaths I cannot break, even for you, brother," said Mycroft.
Sherlock looked at him, looked at the book title again and said, "Where would I even find a title like this?"
Mycroft was looking pointedly at Lestrade and everyone else turned to look at him.
"Me?" said Lestrade. "Does it look like I spend my free time looking for books? How will I know where it is?"
"Show him the name of the book, Sherlock," instructed Mycroft, lazily.
Sherlock, who was interested in why Mycroft thought Lestrade would know, showed him without too much fuss. Lestrade's reaction when he saw the title of the book was intriguing though. He paled considerably and choked on air. Then he looked over at Harry who was still sleeping on the couch as though all his suspicions were confirmed once and for all.
"What – Who – How do you know?" asked Lestrade looking back at Mycroft.
"You didn't really think that something like that would slip past me? I chose not to say anything as I knew what had happened and how – delicate – the situation was. Believe me, it was looked into before you were able to work with Sherlock," said Mycroft.
"I can't even get into the Alley," said Lestrade. "I don't have much say, not being what I am."
"Regardless, you have three things working for you. You are the oldest of your siblings, you are alive in your immediate family and most importantly you are the only free one left in your family. You are also from an old family, from what I gather. Regardless of what you are to them, that all still means something to some in your – community."
"It hasn't been my community since I turned eleven," said Lestrade and he sounded somewhat angry.
Sherlock and John could only watch the exchange going on between Lestrade and Mycroft with fascination even if they both were lost, not something that happened to Sherlock often.
Mycroft just looked at Lestrade and said, "We both know that's not true."
"Following with current events that affect this community is different. There was a threat and I needed to keep myself and family safe," said Lestrade, frowning.
"Ah, there is that family-raised Slytherin self-preservation coming through," said Mycroft with a slight sneer.
Lestrade let out a scowl. He hated all reminders of his family and that perhaps was one of the biggest.
"What are the two of you talking about?" asked Sherlock, not liking the feeling of not knowing what was going on.
"Ask Gregory Lestrange," said Mycroft with a note in his voice was that was indescribable by all except Sherlock.
"Who?" asked John and he sounded confused but he was looking at Lestrade since Mycroft was directing the majority of the previous conversation at him and he was able to catch Lestrade clenching his hands into fists and his scowl becoming even more pronounced as did Sherlock who was also watching him as well as Mycroft.
"I haven't gone by that name since I was eleven," said Lestrade and he sounded angry though John couldn't work out why.
"Well it seems like your past is coming back to haunt you, doesn't it?" said Mycroft.
Lestrade looked like he wanted to tell Mycroft exactly where he could shove that saying but barely refrained himself, just barely.
Instead, he refused to say another word to anyone on the subject.
"Well," said Sherlock after five minutes of silence, standing up and walking over to Harry to gently pick him up after pocketing his glasses in his suit jacket. "We're leaving."
"You can't take him," said Mycroft, sounding slightly worried.
"Get me custody of Harry, Mycroft," said Sherlock as if Mycroft hadn't spoken.
"Sherlock –" started Mycroft.
"Mycroft," said Sherlock.
Mycroft let out a sigh before he said, "I will do what I can but I cannot guarantee anything."
"You're the British Government," said Sherlock as if it were that simple for him.
"I hold a minor position in the British Government," countered Mycroft.
John and Lestrade let out slight snorts of incredulity that Mycroft thought he was fooling anyone with that lie.
Sherlock left with Harry with a parting, "I hope there is a cab to take me home without one of your lackeys inside, Mycroft."
Knowing that his brother could still hear him and knowing that he may need the advice, Mycroft said, "Don't let him sleep too much longer or else you'll never get him to sleep tonight."
Mycroft let out a sigh as John and Lestrade followed Sherlock with a parting nod of goodbye, though stiffly in Lestrade's case, to Mycroft who acknowledge them with his own.
After Sherlock, Harry, John and Lestrade left, Mycroft picked up his phone, punched in the number for Anthea's office and said, "I need you to set up an appointment for me with them for next week. No. Not their Minister, someone that we can trust won't try to gain something for themselves and from their Children Welfare Office. Also send me everything you have on Harry Potter's family and their friends, current locations, jobs, you know the drill." He then hung up the phone.
He then remembered that he still had to deal with Agents Thompson and Johnston. Well, they could keep for the moment. Best to let them sweat about what was going to happen to them. He wasn't referred to by many as "the Iceman" for no reason, that was a well-earned title.
Mycroft let out another sigh and said out loud to himself, "I hope you still want Harry Potter once you find out who he is and what he will be capable of, though, God help me if you do. The messes you'll both get into, I can see it now." Mycroft let out another sigh and turned to his computer that had the footage from the bank to see if everything happened the exact way Sherlock, Lestrade and John had said it did.
Before he could get started, though, there was a knock at his door.
"Come in," he said, making sure his weariness was out of his voice.
"Sir," said Anthea, coming in with an evidence bag that contained a note, "This was found at the scene. We took over for Scotland Yard."
Mycroft took the bag, nodding his head at what she said and read the note. He couldn't help but feel his heart drop slightly. He did not think this note was meant for anyone but Sherlock.
You're welcome. With love. – M
Meanwhile, Sherlock, Harry, John and Lestrade parted ways once they got outside of Mycroft's office, Lestrade promising to bring the book to Baker Street tomorrow once he had a chance to pick it up, as it would be better if he went by himself, and saying he would explain everything that Mycroft was talking about tomorrow as well and Sherlock, while unhappy about it, agreed.
Sherlock, John and Harry, still sleeping, then got into a taxi, sans Mycroft's lackey, and returned to Baker Street.
A/N2: So some of you have asked me if this was the end after they got out of the bank. My answer: No. In fact, you could say, this is just the beginning!